Beast Machine (45 page)

“
Pardon? What do you mean?”
asked Jimmy Erdol. He was befuddled by the question. “Like economy
wise?”

“
What is your ideal
Arkansas?” said Bob. “No judgment, just your perfect Arkansas. If
you were in full control, that is.”

All the men stopped eating
and drinking their wine to look at Jimmy Erdol. He sat quiet for a
few seconds. He was thinking and thinking hard about how to answer
this question correctly. But more importantly: honestly.

“
Well, uh,” began Jimmy
Erdol, “I want us to be the freest of all the states.” All the men
nodded at the cliché statement. “Each one of us, we’re the backbone
of the state’s economy,” Jimmy Erdol pointed at all the men around
the table, even Stanzo on accident, “and we should have lower
taxes, the best of the best, the most power in decision making
because we are the winners in life. We, and the generations of our
families before us, have shown to be the winners in life. We know
how the world works. Why can’t we use this advantage we have to
shape Arkansas to our liking? We are the ones that are keeping the
state afloat. It’s not my fault I landed in such a spectacular and
wealthy family. It’s just the hand I was dealt.” He drank more red
wine. “We have to show Arkansans that having success is
everything
in life.” He
sat his wine glass down and scoffed lightly. “There’s zero
motivation for people anymore with the food stamps, the welfare,
the Medicaid, the healthcare – not to mention all the crime
they
commit.” The men kept
nodding in agreement with Jimmy Erdol. “Why should I have to hand
over my money so these, these poor people can have it? They just
shit it out, just like they shit out children, and make no use of
it. They didn’t
earn
it, so they spend it on drugs, cheap food and God knows what.”
More wine was downed by Jimmy Erdol. “Sure, my daddy’s daddy helped
create this incredible business I own, but I made it global. I made
it bigger than they did. I had to make tough decisions – tough
decisions that caused a lot of people to lose their jobs, but I was
thinking about me and my family. I can’t let my family lose any
money that’s necessary to keep us going for generation after
generation. That’s what matters in this world: money and
family.”

Bob looked down at the
table. He pursed his lips then moved them from side to side. “So
you’re saying, your ideal Arkansas is a paradise for the wealthy? A
place where everyone will try to emulate you fine gentlemen, and if
they fail they will just have to suffer and die?”

“
Well,” Jimmy Erdol
swallowed heavily, “that’s the most of it. A wealthy, preferably
white, all-straight Arkansas in charge of everything. No
minorities, or ethnics, to rabblerouse us and try to railroad our
ideas.” Jimmy Erdol laughed nervously. “I’ve never openly admitted
that but it’s the truth. Always have to be politically correct
anymore, can’t speak my own mind.” He cracked his knuckles.
Thrack-ack.
“I don’t want
to have to feed the leeches of this state anymore, like I said, and
I don’t want any more of that gay influence that’s starting to grip
the nation like a pink turtleneck.” He looked down at his lap and
then stuck the tip of his tongue out. “The worst of it is the
congressmen won’t give us anymore sway on what laws we want on the
books. I, alone, have bankrolled more congressmen and congresswomen
than most of those inner city folks can count. Now they don’t want
to show me anymore respect because some other asshole is funding
them? Where the fuck is the loyalty anymore? None of them would be
where they are if it weren’t for me – if it weren’t for us.” He
pointed his finger around to all the men at the table, still
including Stanzo. “I’ve had it with those fuckers in Washington
since they won’t help enough, calling us crazy. And delusional.
Then they give us Southwyck, who clearly isn’t smart enough to win
the state – they don’t care, they’ve got everything else in place.
We want to take hold of Arkansas once again! To make it great
again! We need you to help us, Bob. We’re desperate. Even with all
the money we have to hire consultants, we can’t think of anything
outside of rigging the election or killing this Obelis guy. I tried
to find as much dirt on him to try to blackmail him out of the
race, but he’s got nothing on him. Born in Oregon, raised in
Arkansas by his uncle, goes to school overseas, then nothing. Not
even a speeding ticket or a dumbass comment on the Internet.” Jimmy
Erdol put his hands to his face briefly then lowered them. “What is
your plan, Bob? We need to know.” All the men turned their heads
toward Bob, who was smiling and holding back laughter.

“
I,” laughed Bob, “I have
something in mind. Have you all finished your food?”

The men looked at their
plates, then at the plates of the men beside them. Everyone’s plate
was mostly clean. Aside from the leftover lamb bones, only a scant
amount of asparagus could be found on one man’s plate. Bob stopped
laughing and smirked.

“
Good,” continued Bob.
“Will you all please follow me?” Bob stood up quickly, leaving the
men only moments to decide whether or not they’d follow
him.

Of course, they followed
him.

“
Sure thing, Bob,” said
Jimmy Erdol. Most of the men were quick out of their seats. Some
took time to wipe their faces clean of excess food. “So where in
this cave of yours are we going?”

Bob laughed again, “Through
this door.” Bob opened the steel door that was thought to open to
the kitchen, but behind the steel door was what appeared to be an
interrogation room found in an urban police station. There was
another door that led to a room that could be seen through a thick
one-way glass mirror. Nothing but brick walls and a cement floor
could be seen in the interrogation room. It was illuminated with a
single bright light.

“
What the hell is this?”
asked Bjornssen. “Your sex dungeon?”

Bob closed the door behind
the men. “This is why I believe you men came to me.” All the men
furrowed their brows and tilted their heads. “Please, may I have a
volunteer?” The men looked at one another. “Come on, someone has to
want to volunteer? How about the extra man you brought
along?”

“
Me?” asked Stanzo. “No,
I’m just the pilot. I am not a part of this.” He waved his arms
slightly then crossed them.

“
Do it, Stanzo,” commanded
Jimmy Erdol. “I pay you more than enough.”

“
To pilot your
helicopters!” said Stanzo. “Not to volunteer for
something…something I’m not involved with. I don’t want to be part
of this, sir.”

“
He’s your volunteer, Bob,”
said Jimmy Erdol as he shoved Stanzo to the front. Stanzo grimaced
and looked back at Jimmy Erdol with a pained face.

“
Wonderful,” said Bob. “Now
will you enter the room and face the glass. We want to see your
pretty face.”

“
Will I be okay?” asked
Stanzo. “What am I volunteering for?”

Bob remained silent then
motioned for Stanzo to enter the room. Stanzo sighed then entered
the room, closing the door behind him.

He stood with his back
against the brick wall. The men and Bob gathered against the glass
to look at Stanzo, who was sweating and red faced, blinking rapidly
and breathing heavily. “Now, gentlemen, please let this be a
warning to all of you.”

“
Warning?” muttered a few
voices.

Bob removed a small cobalt
box from his pocket. He opened the box and pushed down on a green
button. “A warning that you need to stay the hell away from Obelis
and American politics.”

Stanzo began to tremble.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head. Teeth began to fall out
of Stanzo’s mouth and then his tongue fell out of mouth.

“
What the fuck is going
on?” screamed Bjornssen. He shoved Bob up against the glass. “Tell
me what you did to him! Save him!”

Bob laughed, “Like your
friend in this room, you all have ingested a device of mine.” Every
man’s eyes grew large. “This microscopic device is attached to your
heart, liver, spleen or lungs. Or elsewhere.” Every man began to
feel their chest and stomach, seemingly trying to feel the device.
“Please put me down or I will have you killed next.”

Bjornssen did so, and then
began to feel for the device like the other men.

“
You’re not going to find
it,” said Bob, “None of you will find it. You will not go to a
doctor to have it removed – it will activate and begin doing the
same thing it is doing to Stanzo there.” Bob pointed to Stanzo, who
was now just a bag of flesh surrounded by vomited internal organs,
teeth, and a tongue. Smoke seeped from the bag of flesh. “You will
all keep your money and ideas out of politics. I do not want you
privileged punks to ruin my endgame. Go, leave!” Bob’s baby blue
eyes turned black.

Zuber went to pull out his
gun but dropped it. It slid towards Bob and Bob picked it up.
“Thought about killing me, eh?” Zuber stood shaking as the other
men were frozen. Bob took the gun and shot directly into his own
palm. He laughed menacingly and then shouted, “LEAVE!”

The men obliged and ran out
of the steel door and then down the dreary gray hallway then
through the bushes, rocks, and trees to the helicopter.

Chapter 39
Folks

Hitbear whined, “Are we
there yet? I may go into hibernation if it takes any
longer!”

He was situated in the
backend of a large SUV that Gora rented. At least that’s what she
told her beasts. All the seats were removed, except the driver and
front passenger seats, so the heavyweight Hitbear could fit
comfortably during the long drive from Oregon to Arkansas. The
sheer weight of Hitbear caused the backend of the large SUV to dip
low and occasionally scrape the road when going uphill.

“
About an hour away,”
relayed Gora. “The sun is beginning to set, so we’ll have the
darkness to help move closer to this mining facility without being
spotted.”

“
How sure are you of this,
again, Tubman?” asked Hitbear.

“
Extremely sure, bear,”
replied the hare. She adjusted her bandana. “It’s a gut feeling,
and I’m going to trust it.”

Hitbear sighed. “I’m going
to catch some more shuteye, I guess.”

The sun set quickly and the
darkness engulfed the land like a plague.

-----

Dr. Takeo Silva began
conducting an autopsy on the miner that had killed himself earlier
in the week. Chairman Obelis had decided to not offer this news out
into the community until the autopsy was completed, considering the
miner had no family. He was alone in the world of the living and
now he was alone in the world of the dead.

“
Have you even done this
before?” asked Chelsey. “You have experience with cats and kittens,
and other animals, but not humans.” She was no longer being
projected from an electronic tablet, but by a device in the mining
facility. It let her roam freely.

Silva guffawed, “Don’t you
remember that it was
I
that created the Carda Implant? I think I have enough
experience to do an autopsy.” He placed his hand on his chest and
laughed again.

“
Very true, my dear,” she
said, her voice fleeting. “What else is there to do for a woman
made of mere light and coding?”

Silva ignored her comment
and went to retrieve the miner’s body from a storage room filled
with ice. The body bag sat against the back wall of the small
storage room with gas station bags of ice piled up to the ceiling.
It was the best he could do since there wasn’t a morgue on site.
Albeit short, fat, and weak, Silva was able to lift the chilled
body bag onto a gurney.

He rolled the gurney into
one of surgical rooms. “Whatever you wish, Chelsey,” replied Silva
to Chelsey’s question. “You can venture around the facility looking
for ways it can be improved or stay here and keep me company. The
world, erm, this facility is your oyster!” He adjusted the gurney
properly under the main light in the room and pulled a tray of
tools next to the gurney. The body bag containing the miner was
unzipped slowly. Silva didn’t have on any gloves.

Chelsey sighed and walked
into the surgical room, walking through the door though she could
have just gone through the wall. She sat on a stool and watched
Silva begin the autopsy.

“
Clearly, it was a puncture
wound to the skull then brain that killed him,” said Silva. An
uneven rectangular hole about two inches deep was visible on the
miner’s head. Silva unzipped the rest of body bag and tossed it to
the side. An appendage on the dead miner caught his eye. “Well, at
least he had a big dick while he was alive.” He smirked and
laughed. “I wonder if he ever properly utilized it!”

Chelsey would have rolled
her eyes at the comment but she didn’t have real eyeballs. She
blinked furiously causing a small flash of light with each
blink.

“
Now, most importantly,
let’s see if there was any damage to the Carda Implant.” He placed
several black straps across the dead miner and then spun the padded
part of the gurney to make the miner’s backside face up. The pale
ass and hairy back of a dead man faced the ceiling. “There appears
to be no physical damage to the man’s neck.” Silva grabbed the neck
of the miner gently to examine closer. The only visible marking on
the miner’s neck was a small scar from the Carda Implant operation
months ago. Silva looked at the sides of the neck. No visible
damage. “Hmm, nothing external. I didn’t want to actually operate
tonight, but it appears I must.”